“It’s pretty sad, that someone could die so young, and they’re wearing their protective equipment and stuff,” James Rochester added.

Tommy’s grief-stricken dad was struggling to accept what happened.

“My best friend’s gone. I just dropped him off, now he’s not here. It’s just hard to think, can’t fathom it,” Thomas Adams said.

The teen was wearing catcher’s gear at an indoor winter baseball practice. He was hit by a pitch in the chest and was dead within minutes.

Aiello put on a chest protector to get a sense of the kind of protection it provides. And with it on, he said it’s hard to imagine a thrown baseball hitting it could cause a fatal injury, but doctors said under certain tragic circumstances it can happen.

Like when a ball hits the chest within a 10- to 20-millisecond period.